BTS comes with a darker concept for the lead title track of what appears to be a darker album overall.

The production initially seems different for them, but it falls in line with other things they have released.  They have always gone for a more obvious use of a lot of EDM undertone and synthesizer-based tracks.  This time we get a angsty electric guitar as the center and most prominent element of the track with the more electronic elements drifting towards the background.  It is a nice counterpart to DNA, which centered an acoustic guitar and pushed those electronic elements to the back as well.

The vocal line really goes to work on this as they not only have complete control of the track, but they are really the most expressive parts of it.  V, Jin, Jimin, and Kookie all have fairly balanced line division making for an interesting sound as each of them, now really having come into their own tones, give just a little something different emotionally as they come in.  As they are all now adults, we can really hear the separation in octaves a lot more clearly now as well, with Jin possibly being the most dynamic is his performance as he takes a couple of different tenor/baritone stretches in his parts.

Suga and J-Hope also have pretty prominent roles in their turns as leads on the track, which leave RM curiously underutilized as he only adds a few poignant lines at the beginning and a towards the end.  This might have something to do with him taking a greater hand at the right and production of their work over time, but we hope this doesn’t set the tone for the his absence from the rest of the album.

One thing we really love are the lyrics.  A strong mixture of poetic and straightforward, the song is easily accessible by both a Korean and American audience.  The message comes shining through and is relatable at its core without being overly simplistic or not possibly having a second layer of meaning to it.

This isn’t our favorite lead track for the group, but we appreciate the darker tone and the effort put into it when they really could have phoned it in at the point.

As for the visual, we can see the contrast to DNA (which makes us like that video more) as well as elements from previous videos like Blood, Sweat & Tears.  While we don’t get the overarching storyline , we do get the general gist that losing yourself in the wrong thing can be just as detrimental as being alone.  The members look great with the darker hair (theme appropriate) and the choreography is their usual brand of expressive while also managing to be darker in overall tone.

Sidenote: If someone will explain to us why the four elements are attacking the members, we would much appreciate it.

Click the [CC] button in the player to see the translated lyrics.